NEW YORK - The audience gathered at the Shevchenko Scientific Society
(known by its Ukrainian acronym, NTSh) headquarters on June 14 heard an
up-to-date analysis of the latest developments on the language front in
Ukraine, as presented by one of the foremost authorities on the subject.

Dr. Pavlo Hrytsenko, director of the Division of Dialectology at the
Institute of Ukrainian Language of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
(NANU), director of the Ukrainian Commission for the pan-Slavic Linguistic
Atlas at the International Committee of Slavists, a member of the Ukrainian
Orthography Commission at NANU, and a professor at the University of Lublin
in Poland, delivered a lecture titled "The European Charter for Languages,
or Who and What Threatens the Ukrainian Language Today."

Prof. Hrytsenko noted both positive and negative recent developments
that affect the status of the Ukrainian language. On the positive side,
he listed the parliamentary hearings at the Verkhovna Rada in Kyiv on March
12, which were dedicated to "The functioning of the Ukrainian language
in Ukraine." He appreciated the very constructive role played by the
invited speech delivered at the hearings by the NTSh president in America,
Dr. Larissa Onyshkevych.

The hearings went on record as declaring the shortcomings of the present
language program in Ukraine and charged Ukraine's government with the obligation
to provide sufficient funds in its 2004 budget for the promotion of the
Ukrainian language. In October of this year the Rada will hold a "Day
of the Ukrainian Government," designed to check the government's progress
in fulfilling its obligations with respect to the language policy.

Furthermore, the Verkhovna Rada recommended to all branches of the government
to work out a legislative basis as well as mechanisms for the regulation
of the development of the Ukrainian language; to re-instate the Presidential
Commission on Language, which was disbanded by President Leonid Kuchma;
to assume control over mass media that are foreign-owned; to insist that
a minimum of 70 percent of the programming on radio and TV be done in Ukrainian;
to offer tax abatement for Ukrainian-language video and audio productions
and to make the knowledge of Ukrainian obligatory for minority citizens
of Ukraine. A project on the development and application of the Ukrainian
and minority languages in Ukraine was to be prepared by the year 2010.

A shortcoming of the Rada's recommendations, pointed out by Dr. Hrytsenko,
lies in their restriction to the territory of Ukraine - they do not address
the linguistic rights of the Ukrainian minority in neighboring countries.
This may be contrasted with the well-financed and proactive policy of the
Russian government, which intercedes on behalf of Russian speakers everywhere.

Finally, the Verkhovna Rada recommended that the ratification of the
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages be deferred until such
time as a proper legislative basis of the development of languages in Ukraine
has been established.

The last recommendation, however, has become moot as of May 15, when
the Verkhovna Rada changed its mind and ratified the charter, which was
promptly signed into law by President Kuchma. This was done for political
and commercial reasons, said Dr. Hrytsenko. In his opinion, Ukraine's acceptance
of the charter undermines the position of the Ukrainian language and is
detrimental to its future. Among other things, the charter mandates a full
educational program in the languages of minorities and provides for the
use of these languages in administrative offices, courts and mass media.

Prof. Hrytsenko said that he finds it difficult to imagine a practical
application of the charter to accommodate so many languages. The one language
that will definitely profit from it, he said, will be Russian, whose already
dominant status in Ukraine will now be further enhanced thanks to the new
law. Because of the adoption of the charter, any chance for the de-Russification
of Ukraine has now been diminished significantly, Dr. Hrytsenko commented.

Although in principle the titular language of a country need not be endangered
by the enhanced rights of the minority languages, this is not true for Ukraine,
where no legal mechanisms exist for the protection of the Ukrainian language.
An expansion of the sphere of functioning of minority languages will further
reduce the application of the Ukrainian language, also removing much of
the incentive for the minority citizens to learn Ukrainian. With the adoption
of the charter, the Ukrainian language has become even more endangered than
before, concluded Prof. Hrytsenko.

The threat to the Ukrainian language derives also from internal factors,
according to Dr. Hrytsenko. Among them he stressed the absence of a clear
language policy of the government of Ukraine; the declaratory nature of
the existing language programs, particularly during the pre-election campaigns;
the denigration of all things Ukrainian in the eyes of the average citizens,
when expressions of patriotism are judged to be archaic and irrelevant;
and the demonstrative indifference towards the Ukrainian language exhibited
by people in power. Finally, the science of social linguistics has yet to
be developed properly in Ukraine, said Dr. Hrytsenko.

The lecture evoked a period of spirited discussion. In response to a
comment about the perceived pessimistic tone of his talk, Prof. Hrytsenko
replied that his intention was to rid his audience of complacency and instead
to mobilize them for a continued struggle in defense of the Ukrainian language.

The program was opened by the NTSh president, Dr. Onyshkevych, and emceed
by Prof. Vasyl Makhno.